USLCA Award Nominations Due April 15!

We can hardly believe the deadline is almost here to nominate your colleagues for USLCA's Award of Excellence or the Terry Jo Curtis Award.

USLCA's Award of Excellence honors someone who has worked to advance the IBCLC through leadership, advocacy, professional development, and/or research. The Terry Jo Curtis Award is presented to honor the exemplary efforts of a USLCA member who is working to increase access and equity. We are certain that you have some ideas about who is deserving of these awards! We need to receive your nominations by April 15 in order to have time to prepare the awards for our Annual General Meeting at the May conference. Please submit your nomination forms today and have a voice in helping us honor those going above and beyond for the profession!

Nominate A Colleague Today!

It's Almost Conference Time!

2017 is the year to explore #NewHorizons in Clinical Lactation at our May 3-6, 2017 Conference.

We're supporting today's IBCLC® with the latest research, techniques, and concepts to help advance your practice! Our lineup of respected plenary speakers, fascinating breakout sessions, and great networking activities and opportunities make this an opportunity you won't want to miss.

Check out our Clinical Workshop Day on May 3. Many full conference attendees will want to add on this unique opportunity and experience hands-on sessions from leaders in the field. Space is limited, so don't delay!

Register Here Today

The conference will be held at a beautiful resort in the Hill Country of Texas, just outside San Antonio. A direct link to the hotel website and registration portal is right on our registration website.

The resort has amenities like a golf course, wave pool, bicycles to ride on the bicycle paths, fitness center, pools and hot tubs, a full-service spa, and excellent dining options. There are great kids' club options to keep any travel companions busy during the day! There's so much to do for you and your traveling companions, you may not want to leave!

You can keep up with details about the conference at this link:
https://uslca.org/new-horizons

Upcoming Live Webinar from USLCA

Registration Open Now for Beyond the Latch: Skills Baby Needs for Success

Date
April 10, 2017*, 60 Minutes
4 pm Eastern (3 pm Central, 2 pm Mountain, 1 pm Pacific)

Cost
Members: $15 | Non-members: $30

Number of CERPs & CNEs
1 L CERP and 1 Nursing Contact Hour

Presenter
Joan Comrie, MS, CCC-SLP

Objectives
By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:

Understand factors influencing the development of an effective suck pattern.
Understand suck patterns necessary for effective milk transfer.
Understand common oral sensory and motor problems that interfere with successful breastfeeding.
Appreciate how ineffective suck patterns with poor milk transfer lead to premature weaning.

Member Spotlight

This month we highlight a Student Member of USLCA who works hard to support breastfeeding families as a Peer Counselor at Christus Santa Rosa WIC in San Antonio, Texas. Victoria Jackson is an aspiring IBCLC who recently joined USLCA. She has been a breastfeeding peer counselor for over four years. She explains her passion: "I had a lot of trouble breastfeeding my son but access to help was scarce. My own peer counselor at WIC was not very helpful and I didn't have access to a lactation consultant after leaving the hospital."

Victoria has a special interest in increasing duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding, and she is committed to teaching paced bottle feeding to families who do use bottles. She states "I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but with so many babies coming out of the hospital already on the bottle, I feel that bottle preference remains a huge barrier in establishing and maintaining milk supply." Many IBCLCs experience this reality on a daily basis and we are always trying to think about strategies to minimize the impact of temporary or occasional bottle feeding on breastfeeding.

Ultimately, Victoria wants to be a hospital-based IBCLC or possibly in a transitional care-type setting. "Actually, I really feel like someone needs to invent some form of transitional care for breastfeeding women," Victoria says. "Hospital stays are so short and so many mothers develop problems between discharge and seeing us at the WIC clinic."
USLCA is proud to serve Victoria and all of our members - professionals and aspiring IBCLCs alike! It's people like Victoria who demonstrate that the future of our field depends on innovative thinking and seeking inspiration directly from the families we serve.

Research Participation Opportunity

USLCA is sharing the following opportunity to participate in research on behalf of a member and on behalf of progress for the field of lactation support.

Hello USLCA members,

You are invited to participate in the study titled "Lactation Consultants’ Knowledge and Perception of Using Telehealth for Breastfeeding Support." We are nurse researchers from Graceland University School of Nursing, Independence, Missouri and Purdue University School of Nursing, West Lafayette, Indiana. We are interested in learning how the telehealth technology has been used for lactation support and assess lactation consultants’ knowledge and perception of using telehealth to provide support to breastfeeding women. Your participation in this survey is voluntary. If you choose to participate, you’ll be asked to complete an on-line survey using the link provided. The survey can be completed within 5-10 minutes of your time. Your participation will be anonymous and the information given is completely confidential with no link to your personal information.

You will not be paid for being in this study. There’s no risk to you in participating in this survey. You may choose to stop the survey at anytime if you do not want to complete. Please note that USLCA is sending this survey at the request of this research team. The survey results can only be accessed by the research team and not the USLCA board members or staff. Your decision to participate in this survey will not affect your relationship with USLCA in the future. If you are interested, please click the link below. The survey will close on April 16, 2017.

If you have any questions about this study or research related problem, you may email us at rojjanas@graceland.edu. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant you may contact the Graceland University Institutional Review Board (IRB) at 816-423-4720.         

Sincerely,

Wilai Rojjanasrirat, PhD, RN, IBCLC

Professor, Graceland University School of Nursing

Independence, MO

Azza Ahmed, DNSc, RN, CPNP, IBCLC

Associate Professor, Purdue University School of Nursing

West Lafayette, Indiana

Click the link below to participate in the survey

https://purdue.qualtrics.com/jfe/preview/SV_0roqlsslrb1yvSl?Q_CHL=preview

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USLCA Members Enjoy Discounts

We know you are making a strong personal statement by investing in USLCA membership, and we know how hard you work for breastfeeding families! We want you to have an even more rewarding membership experience, so we have built an Affinity Program for you.
As a USLCA Member, these benefits are free to you. You will save money on hotel rooms, rental cars, office supplies, and payroll services!

This holiday season, when you book travel or purchase holiday gifts, here are some ideas for how to use your Member Affinity Program:

Office Depot/Office Max:

Everyday low copy/print pricing: 2.5¢ B/W | 22¢ Color
Exclusive monthly specials
Coupon Central – additional online savings and coupons at your fingertips
Free next-day delivery on online orders of $50 or more **

You can access these benefits right away and find more opportunities for savings by logging in to USLCA's website and visiting the Affinity page here at : https://uslca.org/affinity-program

Please let us know what you think of our Affinity Program by emailing info@uslca.org!

Membership in Your Professional Association: This Is How We Make A Difference in Our Field

USLCA represents you, the IBCLC®, in the national conversation on lactation support. Being a member ensures that your perspective is a part of what we do to advocate for you and your work. We advocate for your skills, your expertise, and your credential while showing the nation that we are strong partners in the work of keeping families healthy.

USLCA membership offers valuable benefits and advantages, multiple levels of membership and annual and monthly payment options, making USLCA membership even easier on your budget!

Current Membership Rates:
Contributing Professional $109/year
Monthly $9/month
Individual $85/person
Retired Member $50/person
Group $75/person (Group of 5 or more)
Student $43/person

We are proud to now offer a Retired Member Category to reflect the passion of our members who have retired from paid work but whose passion for our mission still shines brightly!

You might find that you can easily build a group of 5 for group membership by gathering colleagues in your practice group, your WIC site, your hospital lactation team, your local breastfeeding coalition, or any other network of lactation professionals you know!

Click Here to Join, Renew, or Learn More!

*If your membership is set up for auto renewal, the current rates will be reflected on your renewal date.